Echl Drills Player

Broken Jaw Results In Ban For Season

November 01, 1991|By JAVIER SOLANO Daily Press

Columbus Chill forward Jason Taylor, who deliberately swung his stick at Hampton Roads Admirals forward Harry Mews and broke his jaw in a game last Friday at Scope, has been suspended for the balance of the 1991-92 East Coast Hockey League season, including the playoffs.

ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly announced his decision on Thursday after having reviewed reports, radio and audio tapes, and verbal conversations with game officials and witnesses. In a written statement, Kelly asserted that "the East Coast Hockey League will not tolerate this kind of action by any player. I hope that the rest of the players realize the severity of the incident."

The lingering question is, did the league go far enough? "I guess so," the 24-year-old Mews said from his Baltimore, Md., apartment, which he is cleaning out before going home to Ottawa. "There's only so much you can do. I just hope the kid learned from what he did.

"What he did was wrong and way out of whack. A year's fine. It's not like I died or anything. Anything less, and I would have been unhappy."

Admirals owner Blake Cullen was pleased with Kelly's decision.

"Well, we're satisfied," Cullen said. "I'm satisfied. It serves the purpose. The guy's not going to play anymore this year.

"We're looking for something good to come out of this mess. This sends a message to the other players in the league that you can't do that."

Jack Button, director of player personnel for the Washington Capitals who was in attendance Friday at Scope, was satisfied with Kelly's response.

"I feel sorry for the player that did it, to a certain extent," Button said. "It's something he's got to live with for the rest of his life."

Taylor, a 24-year-old native of Oak Lake, Manitoba, led Columbus in penalty minutes during the preseason with 31. "I think a situation like this, at this stage of his career, a one-year ban is like a lifetime sentence," Cullen said.

Cullen was referring to the fact that Taylor is 24 and has few years left to impress NHL scouts.